On Thursday, November 3, Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, received HE Mr Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand; HE Ms. Aichetou Me Haiham Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mauritania, HE Mr. George Karolyi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Hungary, who presented, in the morning, their letters of appointment to HSH the Sovereign Prince.

Following this interview, an official lunch, chaired by Mr Tonelli, was held at the Hotel Hermitage.

HE Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow began his diplomatic career in 1979 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). He then joined the Embassy in Washington and was appointed to the Department of Political Affairs. In 1999 he became Deputy Director General of Southeast Asia Affairs and held the position of Managing Director

Department of Information from 2002 to 2004. He was also Consul General in Hong Kong, Ambassador Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, and Ambassador of Thailand to Japan.

After a period? in the Department of Education and at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, HE Ms Aichetou M’Haiham was appointed Secretary of State for the Status of Women in 1997. In 1998, she became president of a National NGO for the promotion of women in rural areas. From 2005, she successively occupied the posts of Adviser to the Presidency of the Republic, in charge of Cultural and Social Affairs, deputy Commissioner for Food Security and the Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Action.

Attaché to the Commercial Department of the National Industrial Aerospace, in service contracts sale of the Concorde aircraft in 1971, HE Mr Georges Karolyi integrated the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1974 as Chief of Staff of the Director General before becoming responsible for Studies and Research in Directorate

Studies. He joined the Fiat company in Paris in 1978 where he held the post of Assistant to CEO then the Director of the Company’s Controlling. He is the founder of the Joseph Karolyi foundation, an organisation to promote the European opening of Hungary.

[caption id="attachment_8570" align="alignnone" width="707"] Minster of Health and Social Affairs, Stéphane Valeri[/caption]
Stéphane Valeri, Minister for Health and Social Affairs, has announced his resignation from the post after seven years.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, May 24, Mr Valeri said: “The Sovereign Prince has allowed me to take a new turn in my professional life, accepting my resignation, which will take effect at the end of the month.”
The Minister, who was profiled in Monaco Life last November, added, “For me, it has been an honour and a great source of pride to have been able to serve him for more than seven years as a Government Minister in order to maintain and further develop the Monegasque social model and the excellence of our care system.”
He continued, “During all these years, I have given the best of myself to live up to the confidence that Prince Albert II has shown me by appointing me to these duties. I have been able to count on exceptional teams for their professionalism, dedication and human qualities. I will never forget their commitment to the Principality and I thank them.
For the most part, since my objectives have been achieved, my successor will be able to bring a fresh perspective and count on all my support.”
Minister Valeri, very well respected in Monaco on all levels, said that he will be joining the business world, developing a communications company, his original domain.
After taking time to recharge his batteries, he is looking forward to opening a new chapter in his life.

READ MORE ABOUT STÉPHANE VALERI

[caption id="attachment_15147" align="alignnone" width="850"] Photo: Communications Department[/caption]
A Monegasque delegation led by Gilles Tonelli, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, visited Mali from April 4 to 7.
Alongside the Minister, Mossadeck Bally, Honorary Consul of Monaco in Mali, Bénédicte Schutz, Director of International Cooperation, Candice Manuello, Programme Manager Director of International Cooperation and Cécile Dakouo, Country Manager in the International Cooperation Department, visited Malian authorities and met with local partners working with Monegasque organisations.
During the visit, several partnership agreements were signed, particularly a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene to support the fight against sickle-cell anaemia, an agreement with the founder of Samusocial, Xavier Emmanuelli, which assists children living on the streets in Bamako, and one with the Fondation Mérieux, the association Santé Sud and the Centre of Infectiology to improve the quality of care in rural areas.
Finally, Minister Tonelli took part in the official ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the cardiac catheterisation unit at the Mother-Infant hospital in Bamako in the presence of the Monegasque association Share, the project's founder.
Bilateral cooperation between the two countries was initiated in 2006 and was strengthened in 2011 by the signing of a Framework Cooperation Agreement on the occasion of the visit to Monaco of former Malian President, Amadou Toumani Touré. In 2012, the Sovereign Prince went on a State Visit to Mali.
The Monegasque delegation was received by a number of Malian ministers, including the Minister of Malians Abroad, Dr Abdramane Sylla, Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Dr Marie Madeleine Togo, and the Minister for the Promotion of Woman, Child and Family, Sangaré Oumou Bah.